Good news for Ribcraft !! And.......

Maximus · 22 September 2010, 13:28

A good friend of mine associated with the Olympic Sailing events at Weymouth has told me that after beating off stiff competition from around the world ''Ribcraft'' of Yeovil have secured the Olympic contract to supply ALL the Ribs for the 2012 olympics! According to him a total in excess if 65 craft!!! I suppose when you think of all the saftey boats,marshalling,transport,security, ect this is not that surpriseing a figure.
Good to hear its gone to one of our home grown premier Rib builders!!!Well done you guys!
......Could it also mean there may be a few low hour Ribcraft bargains around after the Olympics????

Zippy · 22 September 2010, 13:40

Great news for Ribcraft if it turns out to be true although i am sure there will be lots of other deals floating around. as for some low hours bargains, never happens with the Americas cup fleet but heres wishing!!

i saw the RYA Ribcraft with twin hondas a few weeks back, looks like a very nice boat with the T top...

martini · 22 September 2010, 15:05

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maximus

in excess if 65 craft!!

Forget trying to order a Ribcraft for the next 2 years then!

Max... · 22 September 2010, 15:06

Quote:

Originally Posted by martini

Forget trying to order a Ribcraft for the next 2 years then!

That's what I thought! And for anyone who's got one on order I'd gee 'em up a bit!

EdPed · 22 September 2010, 15:28

I spoke to them about the deal and no-one denied that the deal had taken place, likewise Suzuki were fairly upbeat about the deal, so I would imagine it is probably true.
Taken that they were also quoting delivery of next May then I do not see too many boats being supplied into the retail sector once they start on the new order for some time.

However I do have a solution for you all out there, contact me at the Southampton Dry stack and I will sell you a Redbay instead.

For those who do not know my contact number : MRL Marine 023 8033 5333.
Look forward to hearing from you - Edward

John Kennett · 22 September 2010, 15:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by martini

Forget trying to order a Ribcraft for the next 2 years then!

I spoke to Jason at Ribcraft and he told me that if they did happen to win a contract for between 50 and 100 boats in the next year or so, they would set up a separate production line to avoid screwing up the rest of the business.

The last time a RIB builder got a contract like this it was the Camel Trophy boats and they pretty much finished Ribtec off. I should think (hope) that whoever gets the Olympic contract will have learned a few lessons!

Jizm · 22 September 2010, 16:05

What's the score with the Protector RIBs then?

Simon B · 22 September 2010, 16:45

I thought Ribcraft had a separate resin transfer line anyway?

Mollers · 22 September 2010, 16:48

To be fair, I would've been surprised if Ribcraft hadn't won the contract. Probably the nearest thing we have to a mass producer of Ribs in the UK and only 30m from Weymouth. Well done to them never the less.

Setting-up a second production line has to be a huge financial undertaking and I'm sure, that the Olympic procurement team would've squeazed them pretty hard on an order of such value.

Downhilldai · 22 September 2010, 16:51

It would be interesting to hear how many other potential suppliers were in the mix

ZodiacFuturaMk2 · 22 September 2010, 17:10

I would like to echo the congratulations expressed by Maximus on this good news. Great to hear a British company has won this contract for London 2012.

I also agree with Maximus that it is not surprising when you consider you rarely see a safety or marshalling boat that isn't tattooed with Ribcraft on the tubes!

Sorry to hear from John Kennett that the fully loaded Roof-rack-tastic Camel Trophy boats "nearly finished Ribtec off"....to be fair I can't really see that happening with the growing global demand for Ribcraft boats! Lets not forget Ribcraft still have 674 days to build "between 50 and 100 boats" and that is if they haven't started already!

Anyone else going to actually say "well done Ribcraft?"

Mollers · 22 September 2010, 17:21

Quote:

Originally Posted by ZodiacFuturaMk2

Anyone else going to actually say "well done Ribcraft?"

I actually just have. Once you've gotton over the excitement, you might like to read the thread again.

Downhilldai · 22 September 2010, 17:22

Quote:

Originally Posted by ZodiacFuturaMk2

Great to hear a British company has won this contract for London 2012.

John Kennett · 22 September 2010, 17:34

Quote:

Originally Posted by ZodiacFuturaMk2

Sorry to hear from John Kennett that the fully loaded Roof-rack-tastic Camel Trophy boats "nearly finished Ribtec off"....

Didn't you know?

Quote:

Anyone else going to actually say "well done Ribcraft?"

But nothing has been announced yet

rigi36 · 22 September 2010, 17:40

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zippy

i saw the RYA Ribcraft with twin hondas a few weeks back, looks like a very nice boat with the T top...

Tis indeed.

Had a few rides on it myself.

Maximus · 22 September 2010, 18:52

Quote:

Originally Posted by John Kennett

Didn't you know?
But nothing has been announced yet

Dont worry John I'm pretty confident of my ''Source''

but I will ring Ribcraft tomorrow to dispel all doubt.

Poly · 22 September 2010, 18:55

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maximus

Dont worry John I'm pretty confident of my ''Source''

but I will ring Ribcraft tomorrow to dispel all doubt.

Hopefully there was no clause in the procurement process that said RC have to keep the outcome confidential until officially announced... ...because "leaks" are the sort of thing government procurement people don't like - and might cause then to review the bidding process.

Poly · 22 September 2010, 18:58

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maximus

......Could it also mean there may be a few low hour Ribcraft bargains around after the Olympics????

that might not be good for you - 2nd hand values of RC are quite high, presumably in part because demand is higher than supply. If there were really 65 boats dumpted on the market all at once that would not help the resale value of your boat.

Pikey Dave · 22 September 2010, 18:58

Quote:

Originally Posted by Polwart

Hopefully there was no clause in the procurement process that said RC have to keep the outcome confidential until officially announced... ...because "leaks" are the sort of thing government procurement people don't like - and might cause then to review the bidding process.

I was told about this around a month ago from an impeccable source, but was sworn to secrecy, so I kept my gob shut. Looks like it's common knowledge now though.

Poly · 22 September 2010, 19:04

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mollers

Probably the nearest thing we have to a mass producer of Ribs in the UK and only 30m from Weymouth.

Would avon, and valliant not claim that they are the mass production end? My gut feel is Ribeye probably also bang out more boats than Ribcraft each year. And given that they only need to last a few weeks hard use the perceived hight build quality from RC may not actually be necessary...